A full-wave characterization of an interconnecting line printed on a dielectric slab backed by a gridded ground plane

The electromagnetic behavior of a planar structure formed by a conducting strip printed on a dielectric slab backed by a gridded ground plane is analyzed in order to outline the characteristics of this type of interconnect often used in microwave integrated circuits and digital applications. A two-port equivalent model, based on the Z-matrix network representation, is adopted to study the electrical properties of the structure. The Z-parameters have been determined by means of a full-wave spectral domain methodology. Numerical results concerning the properties of this type of interconnect for different grid geometries are presented, and the effects related to the radiation from the strip and the gridded ground plane are pointed out.